NEW YORK: Gold gained on Wednesday, taking an uptick in US Treasury yields and the dollar in stride, as the safe-haven metal drew support from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s repeated calls to keep low-interest rates pinned near zero.

Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,734.36 per ounce by 1:54 p.m. EDT (1754 GMT). US gold futures settled 0.5% up at $1,733.20.

“The Fed said that despite the fact that we could see some higher inflation, they will look past it so that ultimately means we could see a spike in inflation and the Fed remaining on the sidelines ... those factors are helping gold here,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

Gold’s gains came despite benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields and the dollar ticking up. A stronger dollar makes holding gold more expensive for other currency holders. Gold is unlikely to move out of the $1,700-to-$1,750 range until later in the year when growth and inflation likely stalls with investors likely favouring assets and commodities that track higher inflation until then, said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.

Elsewhere, palladium gained 1.2% to $2,635.19 per ounce and silver rose 0.2% to $25.12. Platinum climbed 0.4% to $1,172.82.